While Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings completes its planned acquisition of Spokane-based Pathology Associates Medical Laboratories Inc.—a process that’s expected to take upwards of a year—the Spokane business community can hope that that big North Carolina-based company sees value in preserving a physical presence here. 

LabCorp and the current owners of PAML—Providence Health & Services and Catholic Health Initiatives—aren’t saying anything about the fate of the Spokane operations, other than that they don’t anticipate any changes in operations or services while the acquisition is being finalized. A lack of reassuring words about the future of the operations here from any of the parties involved is disquieting at best. 

News of the acquisition had been telegraphed in the days leading up to it by The Lund Report, an Oregon-based health care blog. Even before The Lund Report’s postings about the imminent sale, the Journal had received tips that PAML was on the market. In short, the sale didn’t come as a shock. 

The loss of PAML, however, would send shockwaves through Spokane’s health care community. As of December, PAML had 730 full-time equivalent employees in Spokane County and 1,850 workers elsewhere. Many of the jobs that the organization provides, in addition to being well paying, are specialized in nature, meaning that some workers might have to go outside of the Spokane to find similar positions should their jobs be eliminated. 

It’s too soon to say whether that will happen. What is certain, however, is that the Inland Northwest will lose yet another headquarters if the acquisition is finalized. The planned PAML acquisition comes after the acquisition of etailz Inc., the demise of Ambassadors Group Inc., and the move of the corporate offices of Coeur Mining Inc. It comes after the loss of Coldwater Creek Inc. and the acquisition of Sterling Financial Inc. The list goes on. 

PAML and etailz were both privately held, but several of the large companies that no longer exist or are no longer based here were or are publicly traded. Now, only eight public companies remain based in the Spokane-Coeur d’Alene area. 

Some of those big operations still have a strong presence in the Spokane market. Etailz continues to function out of its space in the University District, and Sterling’s acquirer, Portland-based Umpqua Holding Corp., maintains some administrative operations and a number of Umpqua Bank branches here. 

Still, with each closure or merger, Spokane loses high paying c-level jobs and corporate citizens. Nonprofit organizations and community initiatives have fewer large corporations to call on for support, leaving the charitable dollars of those that remain to be stretched thinner. 

It’s important to remember that the fate of PAML’s operations here hasn’t been sealed yet, and the organization could remain a strong contributor to the Spokane’s business community. At the same time, it’s important to be realistic in acknowledging the serious losses that could come.